Building a DIY Weathered-Look Wood Bed

What's a parent to do when an existing platform bed is too attractive to the younger members of the family, who view it as "their own personal jungle gym"? If you're creative and handy with power tools, the solution is obvious — build a new custom bed for the master bedroom and give it a vintage look by artificially weathering the wood.

After building this queen bed in an outdoor parking space on a gloomy day, this couple stained the wood with a combination of Rustoleum Sun-bleached wood stain and a homemade apple-cider/steel wool cocktail. The final result looks like a bed built with reclaimed wood, though the plans would work equally well with a different finish, depending on your style.